Posts Tagged ‘Chocolate’

Marshmallow Chocolate Mud Cookies

So today I found out I would never be able to have a cookbook because I just can’t name recipes. I can’t. I don’t know how people come up with creative yet still descriptive titles. Mine are all either too abstract that they could be anything or just downright boring. For the sake of clarity I stuck with the boring because these cookies are so delicious that they don’t need much creativity to sell. DSC_2325

I am not a cookie person, but if I am going to eat cookies I prefer them homemade (who doesn’t) and these cookies are the only recipe I come back to over and over again when I want something delicious to tackle my ever-present craving for chocolate but not waste a whole day in the process. I almost always make these with my two little brothers which demonstrates how easy and fun they are to make (and even more fun to eat).

Team work

Team work

Let me give you a quick sales pitch (although you could just glance at the photos and I am quite confident you will be sold). These cookies hit all the right spots for me, chewy and moist on the inside, crispy on the outside, rich chocolate taste as well as extra little bites of chocolate pieces and topped with some gooey caramelised marshmallows…because if you are going to indulge you may as well have it all (I haven’t mastered moderation at this point in life).

ingredients

  • 1 – 1 and a half cups of chocolate chips (I love a mixture of dark chocolate and white chocolate but hey, go crazy)
  • 1/2 cup more of chocolate set aside (this can be in any form as you’re going to melt it anyway/eat it)
  • 1/2 cup of softened butter
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tsp of vanilla (I really love vanilla essence so just add 1 tsp if you aren’t such a big fan)
  • 1 1/2 cups plain flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 bag of mini marshmallows (don’t worry, there will be plenty for snacking on)

method.

  1. Microwave your half cup of chocolate in a small microwave safe bowl until smooth. I check the chocolate every 30seconds and give it a good stir before continuing because too many times have I been fooled when microwaving chocolate and there is nothing more disappointing than ruining perfectly good chocolate. Whilst microwaving set your oven to bake at 180 degrees celsius.
  2. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a separate bowl and ignore all the dishes that will need to be done after this is over.
  3. Cream the butter and sugar until creamy and fluffy. Make this easier on yourself with a electric mixer unless you enjoy the challenge of doing this by hand. Once this is creamy add the eggs one at a time, beating after each egg is added. Lastly beat in the vanilla and the melted chocolate.
  4. Gradually add the flour mixture into the chocolate, folding in gently but thoroughly so the air doesn’t escape. Add in the chocolate pieces (after taste testing a few to make sure they are worthy of your mixture).
  5. This is where it gets messy. Roughly roll teaspoonful balls of dough onto paper lined trays (chocolate is going to get all over your hands, but don’t worry the mixture tastes almost as good at this point as it does in approx 15 minutes). DSC_2267
  6. You can add your marshmallows now or in around 5 minutes depending on how well done you want the marshmallows to be. I add mine after a little bit of cooking just so that they don’t get too brown. Put roughly 3 mini marshmallows on top of each cookie or 4 if there is space and you haven’t already eaten too many.
  7. Bake at 180 degrees celsius for around 15 minutes or until they look evenly cooked/set. They will be pretty soft so once out of the oven leave to cool before transferring to a wire rack. Enjoy your hard work with a well earned cookie and glass of cold milk.

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Let me know if you give these a go (preferably in advance so I can come over and eat some) and if you have any amazing cookie recipes please throw them my way so I can expand my very narrow cookie repertoire. Link me up in the comments or on Twitter or Facebook :)

 

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Flick doesn’t understand why we bake things which she cannot eat and is thoroughly disappointed because these smelt so good.

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Moist Chocolate Cupcakes (that time I fell in love with a recipe)

You know when you meet someone again after a really long time, and you should remember their name but you don’t. You feel uncomfortably awkward because they act like they know you (and they seem to have remembered everything about you including your hatred of asparagus and your second-cousin’s ex-wife’s love of water-polo) and yet you remember nothing and have no idea how to interact with them.

Ok so maybe I am the only one.

Well thats what I feel like now. Coming back after a several month long hiatus of blogging where I was in a bit of a transitional period of life, busy with work, family and friends (but not busy enough that I can really use that as an excuse for abandoning myfoxycorner as well as myfoxytravels; two blogs=twice the guilt).

I am trying to pretend like I remember how to do this, when in reality I don’t think I ever really got the hang of blogging in the first place. So instead of just awkwardly dancing around the fact that I have been missing for a while, I will just be upfront with how hard it is to try and re-introduce myself to this little corner of the world.

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I could give you a rundown of all the exciting for me, mundane for you, updates in my life. Or I could fall back on an easy yet delicious cupcake recipe and save all that for when I can be bothered.

This cupcake recipe is one I have wanted to blog about for ages and for some reason never have. The reason why eludes me; these cupcakes are my soul-recipe. They are fool-proof (or rather Lizzy-proof). The evidence in this lies in many failed attempts at following a half remembered recipes, forgetting to set timers and then forgetting about the oven contents, and a couple of accidental grillings (how hard is it to make sure you set the oven to bake?, you ask).

Throughout all of these mistakes, these cupcakes have been like my parents. Supportive, forgiving, persistent, reliable and (end of parent comparison) just down right delicious. They are speedy and don’t use anything fancy that isn’t normally lying around my well-stocked cupboard (when it is well-stocked and not just full of pasta and chickpeas). They are the recipe I fall back on for anything and everything, including the ever common scenario I find myself in where I have to (want to) make something delicious and impressive for the next day but it’s already 9pm at night.

These chocolate cupcakes have everything I could want in a chocolate cupcakes. They are moist but still fluffy, rich but I can still eat several at a time, chocolatey but not overly sweet. Satisfying and reliable, like an old episode of the Simpsons.

So without further ado, here it is, the 1 recipe I would take with me to a desert island (or a more appropriate dessert island).

The easiest but most delicious chocolate cupcakes (adapted from hersheys.com “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Cake):

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  • 2 cups of Sugar (I like using mostly white with a little bit of brown sugar thrown in for some giggles)
  • 1 3/4 cup standard flour
  • 3/4 cups cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup boiling water (I add a tsp of instant coffee but this is optional)

  1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and prep your muffin tins with some appropriately beautiful cupcake liners
  2. Add all of the ingredients to a mixing bowl except the boiling water (and coffee). Sift in some stuff if you want but there is no need to get flour all over the sifter and then hate yourself afterwards.
  3. Beat by hand until the batter is completely combined, smooth and lump free.
  4. Add the coffee to the boiling water and then the coffee/boiling water to the mixing bowl. Whisk until this is just blended in. I’ll be honest here and warn you that its going to look like a chocolate soup (which does not look as delicious as it sounds). This is normal and great so just carry on, you’re doing an awesome job.
  5. Evenly pour the mixture into your liners, 3/4 full maximum to avoid spillage and angry regretful tears. Bake for around 20 minutes but around 15 minutes I start testing with a skewer. Once it comes out clean, take them out.
  6. Try to not eat them long enough for them to cool and then ice with what ever takes your fancy. My favourite icing for these at the moment is a baileys and cream cheese concoction, but a simple vanilla buttercream is also a perfect accompaniment. As is peanut butter. Or a dash of icing sugar, so that time that could be used for eating isn’t wasted on icing.

So there they are, deliciously simple and forgiving, these cupcakes are always a star at the workplace as well as with friends, family and even enemies. These were the first cupcakes I ever made and were so easy that I thought I must be amazing at all cupcakes. This misconception was cleared up when I tried to follow a different cupcake recipe (poorly) and realized I was not the natural cupcake superstar I had envisaged. But damn, these chocolate cupcakes do a good job of helping me pretend I am.

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With Baileys and Cream cheese icing (plus some Malteasers). I think this is when I realized I had fallen in love with a cupcake.

Give them a go and let me know how much you love them. Just remember to turn the oven to bake (or don’t, they will still taste amazing).  And hey, I’m very happy to be back. Sorry I can’t remember your name.

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Chocolate and Red Wine Cake aka Comfort Cake

So on this slightly cold Tuesday I have been moping at home sick (but mostly just exhausted) and not able to drag myself into work. I hope that the massive sleep in this morning helps and keeps me going for the rest of the week! Yesterday also started my gluten free trial period (of two weeks approx) to see how my body feels and if changing up my diet helps things like my skin or overall well being. After this first week I shall bring you an update on how all that is going as well as a  gluten free recipe that makes this whole exercise worth it.

Today I bring you a recipe that is not gluten free but is one that I made a couple of weeks ago for my Dad’s birthday. The recipe comes from a favourite blog of mine, hungry and frozen, and I won’t bother rewriting it here as Laura does it best her self! Instead I will just give you a little food porn and explain how much I enjoyed making this. And here is the reliable yet delicious recipe!

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Let me begin by explaining a small fear (okay more like a slight phobia) I have of making cakes. I love cupcakes and make them all the time but cakes baffle me and usually just go terribly wrong. I think this might be the third ever cake I have made. Why do they frighten me in a slightly irrational way I hear you asking? Well mainly just because I can’t taste test the cake to make sure it tastes good and is cooked right.  With cupcakes I would always eat one (or two) before sharing to make sure I am not making a huge mistake and with a cake this is a bit harder. Undercooked, overcooked, too much baking soda, who knows until the big moment where everyone gets a slice. So yeah, making a cake is a big deal for me.

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I went to Laura’s book launch up here in Auckland (which was too much lovely to even begin to describe) and bought her cookbook and then spent the night reading each and every recipe before I could go to bed. The cookbook is great and full of a variety of unique and creative recipes (there is a whole section on toasted sandwiches..this is when I knew I had made the right choice). My first chance to use it was for my Dad’s birthday dinner when I was trying to find a desert for someone who doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth. I ended up going with this because he likes wine and I like chocolate. It just made sense.

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The recipe was simple and easy to follow, the ingredients all pretty standard and nothing to crazy. The addition of cinnamon and red wine to this slightly dense but not overly rich chocolate cake brought a warmth and complexity which was very enjoyable and makes it even more comforting than a standard chocolate cake would be. I think my oven was running a little too hot, as you can see from the photos the cake got  a little carried away in the cracking department, and next time I would take it out a smidgen earlier to maintain optimum moistness (ugh). I served this up with oranges and lots of whipped cream and was really rather spectacular.  I am now thinking about which cake recipe I can try next…. Definitely give this cake a go if you like chocolate and red wine, it was pretty fool proof (if I can make it anyone can) and with a large smothering of chocolate ganache it ends up looking pretty impressive too.

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Ready for a little bit of a photo overload?

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Chocolate ganache. So easy to make and equally easy to just eat straight out of the bowl. Try save some for the cake

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Sorry for all the photos! I couldn’t resist putting heaps of them in (and this is a rather small selection, trust me!). Also thanks to Edd for being my photographer :) He does such an awesome job!

Have a great week!

Lizzy xx

Made me smile 22/04

Hi all!

How was everyone’s week? I am super nervous at the moment waiting for news regarding a potential new job (that I really want) and should be hearing about it today/tomorrow so arghhhhhhh. This post is a good way to distract my mind for a little while, going over the last week or two with some of the happy/funny/delicious/cute things that have brought a few smiles to my face!

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First up, last weekend me and the boys ventured out to the North Shore in order to finally visit DelishCupcakes which is a little cupcake shop (also selling coffee and cake pops) that I have been meaning to try for forever! Needless to say, our cupcakes did not disappoint  Henry chose the gorgeous cupcake above (lime curd with lime buttercream), I chose the double choc cupcake with chocolate ganache (surprise surprise) and Will chose the Jaffa cupcake which had chocolate cupcake base with an incredible orange buttercream on top. All three were divine (we shared them around as everyone had to try each flavour) but my favorite was the chocolate >.< (I love chocolate so this wasn’t any big surprise). I am now, every weekend trying to convince everyone that we have to go back! So many more flavours to try!!! Go checkout their website, facebook or follow them on instagram for some drool worthy photos.

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As usual, a highlight of any week is getting a new tea to try (especially now that the cooler weather has started to return) and this blackcurrent, ginseng and vanilla combo is delicious!

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This weekend’s baking featured some very delicious double choc chip muffins although I must admit we totally cheated and used a box mix due to a time constraint in the kitchen haha but now I am determined to do some research and find the perfect chocolate muffins (so if you have any awesome recipes I should try PLEASE leave them below!!). Yum

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The other excitement of this weekend was finding this gorgeous wee dog called Sophie who was running wild on a very busy road so Edd (being my hero) spent 15 minutes capturing the poor dog who was terrified of the cars and seemed pretty lost. After knocking on doors and then making a trip to the poor vet (who was closed but was unlucky enough to still be roped in to helping us) we found out Sophie’s owner was away for the day. Commence dog nannying for the day! She was a sweety and really attached herself to Edd. I can’t wait til we get a dog! (one day)

20130422-133038.jpgDon’t worry Callie! You are still our only fur baby!!

Other things that made me smile:

This video with Alison Brie from Community (which I have been enjoying again lately) where she imitates a bunch of internet memes, rather successfully! Props to her!

NZ passed the marriage equality bill! And this MP made global news for being just generally pretty awesome.

Cat videos…there have been a few. This one of a kitten really getting into her milk bowl is one that I play whenever I want to laugh because I cannot watch it without laughing. Hilarious. Callie loves milk but I have never seen her quite love it this much. Then there was roomba cat…a cat who rides a roomba plus a dog in some costumes, oh and some ducks. Hilarity ensues. Checkout the playlist of videos to immerse yourself in some slightly random animal antics. Last up is a Cat playing with a vacuum. Seriously cute.

Well that’s it for now, keep up the smiling :)

Made Me Smile

So last week was the end of my lectures for my last undergraduate semester. Pretty exciting but a bit of an anti-climax to be honest, especially with the looming exams starting this Saturday (yup, even my weekends are victim to the hell that is my 5 exams). I can’t wait for exams to be over. I have so many posts I want to write but am lacking so much time at the moment and these 5 minute posts seem to be all I can muster :(

Regardless, here are the few small things that kept me smiling all week.

By now I am sure you aren’t surprised to see tea high on my list of weekly highlights. This is a new favorite and I have been completely in love with the sumptuous taste of this ceylon tea. It smells like Turkish delight and  tastes even better. A big pot of this each night has made the study seem a bit sweeter.

To celebrate the end of lectures I made some chocolate cupcakes with my first ever attempt at chocolate buttercream (I know, but I’m pretty new to this cupcake stuff). These were amazing and probably my favorite cupcakes (me-made) so far.

Thursday I received my first ever Sample Bar box. You can read all about it right here! This definitely made a nice break from a week full of Uni and getting something in the mail other than bills is always a true delight!

I dunno where this image comes from but during the week a lovely lady, Mish, sent an email to me with this and some rather fitting (adapted) Police lyrics. This made me giggle in a room full of silent students, studying away, and so I thought it definitely deserved a mention. Owls are pretty awesome (not as great as foxes though).

As usual I arrive late to every great party and these Arizona Tea drinks are amazing!!! Again, Mish told me all about these weeks ago and I was like “oh cool” and that was it. On my last day at Uni I saw them at the Munchie Mart (our awesome Uni dairy thing) and grabbed the most appealing. All in all, the nicest tea drink I’ve tried. Also, the bottles are so gorgeous that I can hardly bear to throw them out. Go get some!

Saturday involved Edd and I indulging in our new favorite treat. Eggs Benedict at St Lukes. Seriously amazing. I almost wish I didn’t enjoy them so much. My wallet would definitely thank me.

Lastly, Sunday saw me baking away with Mr 4 and Mr 10 (banana muffins at the request of Mr 4). This photo captures how Mr 4 is for the majority of our baking time and explains why my post-baking clean up can take quite  a while. He just finds it very exciting 😛 Mr 10 on the other hand takes baking (like all things) very seriously and so coping with a crazy 4 yr old can sometimes be a struggle. Its always a fun experience though :)

Here’s the more peaceful image I posted on Instagram. A rare moment of cooperation and tranquility. Don’t worry, this didn’t last long.

Hope you are all having a lovely week! Time to get back to studying (yay…)

Xx